1 J ames, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

2 C onsider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

3 k nowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4 A nd let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 B ut if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

6 B ut he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

7 F or that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

8 b eing a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

9 B ut the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

10 a nd the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.

11 F or the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

12 B lessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

13 L et no one say when he is tempted, “ I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

14 B ut each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.

15 T hen when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

16 D o not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

17 E very good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

18 I n the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

19 T his you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;

20 f or the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

21 T herefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

22 B ut prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

23 F or if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;

24 f or once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

25 B ut one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

26 I f anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.

27 P ure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.